According To Science, Social Networks Do Not Alleviate Boredom

We all use our cell phones in lost moments to entertain ourselves. We review notifications, messages, comments, published photos, breaking news … We take for granted that those moments help us to clear our minds when we need them most. However, according to science, social media does not alleviate boredom. What they achieve is something very different.

Some point out that certain platforms seem almost like rooms full of people yelling at each other. Despite not listening to the exchange of words, the cacophony of certain tweets , for example, are embedded in our minds as stressful echoes. Something similar happens in other networks. We go in to entertain ourselves for a few minutes and sometimes we go out more annoyed than relaxed.

Some point out that, due to this social media fatigue, many users are unsubscribing or practicing, what is known as a “digital detox”. However, the most striking problem perhaps resides in the younger population: they are increasingly intolerant of boredom and experience high doses of anxiety when they do not have a screen in front of them.

Why doesn’t social media alleviate boredom?

Social networks do not alleviate boredom and not only that: they aggravate mental health in many people. We are not saying it, according to a 2020 research study conducted at the California Institute of Behavioral Neurosciences and Psychology. It is true that this impact is not the same throughout the world, there are those who make good use of them and obtain pleasant benefits.

However, the figures for discomfort and stress associated with their intensive use is remarkable and striking. There are those who have become addicted to the like , to that little daily dopamine shot obtained in each publication. Others only understand life through that digital universe in which to compare themselves and where, of course, it is forbidden to miss anything published at the last second.

Somehow, many of these things are already known to us. What science had not yet addressed was the effect of social media in short times. That is, do they help us to entertain ourselves and relieve stress or occasional boredom at work, during breaks, on the subway, etc? The answer is no. Now let’s understand the arguments.

Short times with the mobile do not improve our mood

It was Radboud University in the Netherlands who carried out this interesting study to discover if social networks, as everyone believes, helps us clear our minds when we are stressed or when we have a brief moment of rest. The results were published in the Royal Society Open Science and could not be more interesting.

• Social media doesn’t relieve boredom. What’s more, people felt more tired and even stressed.

• Likewise, it was also possible to see something that we will all agree on. We do not use the mobile only during breaks. We do not turn to social networks only in lost moments. The mobile is not a form of leisure, it is a lifestyle. We use our devices even in the most inexplicable situations. So it is difficult to differentiate moments of rest from moments of work.

The feeling of urgency: if you don’t check your phone, you’re missing something

The need that we often have to check the mobile is not something accidental. Also, if social networks do not alleviate boredom, it is also due to a very specific purpose. Each application seeks something very specific: that we make intensive use of them.

All these platforms use very sophisticated techniques to keep us attached to them. The sense of urgency, the idea that if we do not take a look at the mobile we are missing something is a very recurring experience.

Thus, this entire digital universe is not designed to alleviate boredom or even less, to be entertainment in lost moments. What is sought is our addiction and constant use.

Social Media Doesn’t Relieve Boredom: Let’s Find Other Ways To Escape

There are many ways to deal with boredom, but the most important thing is to learn to tolerate it without despairing. In fact, if there is something that allows us this state of mind, it is to look for other sources with which to keep busy and these can be as enriching as it is rewarding if we choose them well.

Reading, listening to music or practicing some artistic activity are exceptional resources for the mind and our psychological well-being. They harmonize emotions, regulate stress and enhance creativity.

If we try, we will realize that there are wonderful universes beyond the screen of a mobile phone and the incessant noise of social networks.